Rear Steer, what do you think?

Who has any experience with a ladder truck or quint with rear steer?
Good?
Bad?
If you have one, who built your apparatus?
How different is it to drive as compaired to an apparatus that does not have rear steer?
Does it do for you what you wanted it to do?
Has the rear steer been the cause of an accident or damage?
How much extra does this option cost?
Was it worth the extra expence?
Is there extra maintenance invilved?
I'm not looking to slam apparatus builders here, just honest input.
My department is looking at a quint with rear steer, and to be honest, we don't know much about it.

We currently operate a 1998 Pierce Quantum 105' Ladder. It has all wheel steer which seems to be working well. Had the opportunity to drive it at an annual driver re-certification and took it through the coure eaiser then a 93 Peirce Lance Engine.

Since I have family in Blue Springs, Mo. and have watched L1 roll from the station I can say with a certainty that anything that can do a U-turn in 5 lanes of traffic(2 each way plus a turn lane) works pretty good.

The all steer is the perfect ladder. We just made a mistake of ordering another tiller which I think is just a parade piece. The cab (without a pump) alone is almost as long as our pumpers. The ladder is much weaker. The only reason that we got a tiller is for "More comparment space" (4 sq. ft.) and tradition. Man I wish we got an all-steer!!!

It only costs 40 to 50K to lose the steering tag axle and convert back to a power no steer tandem, so make sure you make a good choice before you need to re-axle your fleet. What happens when it doesn't work?